Americana, Bluegrass, Country, Folk & Roots music

Multi-award winning Singer-Songwriter and Animal Rights Activist, Donna Hughes has won the 2015 Canine Freedom Award in the Musician category from Dogs Deserve Better – a nonprofit organization that has been freeing chained dogs since 2002. For a complete list of winners of the 2015 Canine Freedom Awards, please visit www.dogsdeservebetter.org.

Dogs Deserve Better announced, “Each year, more laws are made limiting or banning chaining, and more groups get involved in making a difference for chained dogs. These formerly forgotten dogs’ plights are written about, their rescues applauded. While we spend so much time focusing on the negative and harsh realities involved in the fight to free Man’s Best Friends from chains, we realized we need to take a moment to CELEBRATE the good, too. There are so many people who HAVE stepped up to make a difference on behalf of chained dogs, who have come together to fight for them and say “No More.”

Donna Hughes’ original song, “Dog On A 10 Foot Chain” has certainly caught the attention of people around the world as she brings important awareness to dogs being kept on chains and living a life of suffering. The heart-wrenching tune appears in different two versions on her current albums, From the Heart and Fly. The song has received significant airplay, charting on the Roots Music Report’s Top 50 Bluegrass Songs and on AirPlay Direct’s Global Radio Indicator Chart’s Top 50 Bluegrass / Folk Singles. Due to the heart-wrenching lyrics and video for “Dog On A 10’ Chain”, Hughes has since penned a happy follow up song, “One Less Dog In the Cold” that can be viewed on YouTube.

The Animal Rights Advocate continues her passionate mission to change tethering laws around the country. Hughes recently launched a Change.org petition to change tethering laws around the country and in her home state of North Carolina. Her grassroots efforts through social media have also made an impact and caught the attention of high profile celebrities, especially on Twitter, who are now lending their support.

Donna Hughes, along with the award-winning talents of Carl Jackson, Larry Cordle, Brink Brinkman, and Jenee Fleenor, will be judging a new Songwriting Contest hosted by Dogs Deserve Better. For more information including prizes to be award, please visit dogsdeservebetter.org/2015songcontest.html. The deadline for submission is June 30, 2015.

For more information on Donna Hughes’ impressive catalog of music including lyrics, please visit www.donnahughes.com.